Dear Red Leather
by Tobirion
Summary: Genesis Rhapsodos is Red Leather, the writer behind 'Gift of the Goddess,' a popular advice column in Midgar University's student paper The Megaphone. Red Leather effortlessly guides the student population through stressful midterms and relationships, but when things with his real-life friend group turn complicated, finding a solution is anything but easy. ASGZC.


_This is being posted as part 6/9 of my 'Cloud's Birthday Week 2k15' challenge over on tumblr. I'm very happy to finally post this one - it's been completed for a long time. :)_

* * *

 _Dear Red Leather,  
_ _This is my first time writing to_ Gift of the Goddess. _I'm hoping that you can help me. I'm pretty sure that a friend of mine has feelings for me. We're best friends and he's one of the best things in my life right now… and I'm starting to realize that he acts differently with me than he does some of his other friends. I wouldn't be writing this unless I was almost positive that he's interested in more than friendship. The problem is that I also know that he is in love with another friend of his… what do I do? I think I'm interested in my friend back… but I don't want to impede on his chances with the other guy. I think they'd be great for each other. I still can't stop myself from wanting to be with him though…  
_ _Confused Chocobo_

Genesis sighed and rubbed his forehead, hunched over his printouts from earlier that morning. This week _Gift of the Goddess_ had amassed a total of twenty-eight questions. Only ten were printable in the next edition of the paper unfortunately, so he had to pick and choose which were 1) the juiciest, 2) the most heart-wrenching, and 3) the most applicable to the greatest number of readers. All other responses he packaged in envelopes and left in a box outside _The Megaphone's_ office in the Junon building.

He loved this advice business, he really did, but some questions even put his own expertise in _l'amour_ to the test. He scowled and dropped his forehead to his fist, closing his eyes and relaxing for a moment. The piano in his earbuds was soothing, and he really could have used just a few minutes' rest…no one cared if anyone slept in the library…

Whether he actually dozed off or not Genesis was unsure, but he snapped back into awareness when a warm hand started to rub his back over his sweater. He sat up, bleary-eyed, and turned his head to find one of his best friends leaning over his shoulder.

"Working on this week's haul?" Sephiroth asked as he tugged one headphone out, eyeing the paragraphs of text underneath Genesis's arms.

Genesis flipped the pages over so they were out of sight. "No peeking, you nosy brute."

Sephiroth smirked and bent down more so his mouth was level with his ear. "You need a nap. Come on."

Genesis's eyebrows drew together in irritation. This was the quiet floor, so of course Sephiroth was whispering quietly so no one else would hear, at the risk of being kicked out otherwise—but it still made him scowl. _Dammit._

"I don't," he whispered back, but nevertheless stood up and gathered his things into his backpack. Sephiroth unplugged his laptop and wrapped up the cord for him, and they left the library together. It was starting to get cold but Genesis stubbornly clung to summer; he wore shorts and a thin jacket over his sweater. Sephiroth rolled his eyes at his outfit but Genesis jabbed him in his side and lectured about this being the height of fashion.

"Did your test this morning go well?"

"Well enough. I ran out of time on my last essay, but I anticipate an A even with the points lost for not having a conclusion. Then again, I did get three hours of sleep, so I could be delusional about how well I did…"

Sephiroth raised a hand to someone he knew across the quad. "If you hadn't run over to Scarlet's dorm after midnight you would have been able to finish your studying earlier."

"Shut it."

Sephiroth was right, of course, though he would never give in and tell him so. Genesis had known that meeting his regular hookup that late would be potentially harmful for his grade and most certainly his bedtime. The exam was over now, at any rate—Sephiroth's bed beckoned.

Sephiroth's roommate was out and Genesis was disappointed. "Where's Cloud?"

"At the garage, I believe. He will be back soon."

"Horny and smelling like engine oil again, I bet."

Sephiroth laughed in that way only jokes about Cloud could. "He told me that if you insinuate he is in a relationship with his bike again he'll 'bring out an exhaust pipe.'"

"If he isn't talking about his asshole, I'm not interested."

Genesis huffed and rolled over so he faced the wall, but allowed himself a small smile when he heard Sephiroth choke on whatever he was going to say. "I'm going to sleep," he announced, like that wasn't obvious, and pulled Sephiroth's blankets up to cover his shoulders. "Feel free to text Angeal or whoever to see if they want to do something later. You have homework now, right?"

"Mm." Sephiroth was already at his desk and opening up his large chemistry textbook.

The gentle scratching of Sephiroth's pencil across his notebook pages sent Genesis into a quick, heavy, dreamless sleep. He woke up when someone started to ruffle his hair, wrinkling his nose at whoever it was, knocking their arm away.

"C'mon, Gen. Get up. We're hungry."

Genesis rubbed his eyes and peered up at Zack Fair, Junior and resident freeloader. Seeing Zack in this room, or Genesis' own, was not at all uncommon, nor was him sitting on the bed as Genesis slept on it, apparently curled around his hips like a child. But this was…

"Go away."

"If you get up you won't feel as tired." Zack started to scritch his scalp, and Genesis could hear the smile in his voice even though he'd closed his eyes again. "We're going to the cafeteria. Come with us."

"Genesis," Angeal barked from the other side of the room. Everyone knew that Angeal held little actual authority over his best friend, however, and Genesis cracked an eye open to stare him down.

Cloud stood between him and Angeal, however, and he was in the middle of pulling a shirt over his bare chest. The whole gang was here, in fact, and that finally made Genesis stir. Zack helped pull him up and put an arm around his shoulder.

"Food?"

"I'm as starving as I am tired."

The five left Sephiroth and Cloud's dorm and trekked together to the building where the cafeteria was housed. The food was never very appetizing but it was part of their meal plans, and thus not any money immediately out of pocket (just part of the loans they'd all be paying off for a decade after graduation). Genesis got a salad and two slices of pizza, the only half-decent things in the whole place, and he claimed a circular table for them. There were a total of seven seats but he was confident in the ability of his glare to keep away anybody else who wasn't part of his clique. Five was company and six was a crowd, they always said—or something like that.

Like most days Angeal picked at his food with an unsavory expression and wished that his dorm had a kitchen, as he could prepare cuisine himself that was far superior. He ate everything on his plate regardless, after his grumbling quota had been met. Zack and Cloud seemed not to care, talking among themselves, occasionally eating right off the other's plate. Sephiroth attempted to pull out one of his textbooks and Genesis gently kicked his shin under the table.

"Put it away."

"You're going to be up until one studying like you always do," Cloud added, "You can afford to take a break for dinner, Seph."

Sephiroth seemed like he was going to challenge Genesis, but at Cloud's reasoning he acquiesced. He put it away and Genesis smiled at him, and then the rest of his closest friends, chatting and enjoying an entirely unremarkable Thursday.

A few folks at the table beside theirs were talking loudly over the school paper, and he picked up the best part of their conversation. "I wrote in to Red Leather," one girl was telling her friends. "I asked him what to do about Danny cheating on me with that girl from his Physics class…"

Genesis waited, acting cool as he crunched his lettuce. Sure enough the kids at the next table burst into laughter a few minutes later, helpless against the onslaught of his impeccable humor and wit… the girl who had written in said, "Yeah—yeah! I can do that. That asshole doesn't know what's coming."

"I wonder who Red Leather is," said the boy at her side, someone Genesis vaguely recognized from a class freshman year.

"Watch him be a Professor."

"Ew, that's disgusting. I don't want a Professor giving us sex advice."

Their conversation shifted to hot Professors and Genesis tuned out. He wasn't the only one to have heard, it seemed; Sephiroth caught his eye and gave him a small, private smile. He was the only one outside of the paper staff who knew about Genesis's job as Red Leather, the genius behind the successful advice column in Midgar University's school paper, _The Megaphone._ He fiercely guarded his secret, and Sephiroth had only found out due to Genesis drunkenly spilling all the things out of his backpack two years back, including his printables like the ones he had to pour over later that evening.

It was surprisingly reassuring to have someone who knew. Sephiroth occasionally assisted when a question stumped him; Sephiroth was about as romantically-inclined as a rock but he was logical, and was good to bounce ideas off of. He occasionally dropped by his tiny cubicle in the Junon building where he was required to spend a few hours each week and usually waited outside in the hallway with his homework when Genesis had to go to the biweekly paper meetings so they could walk together to their dorms or to get dinner. Genesis winked back and looked down at his plate.

Zack must have heard them too. "Red Leather, huh? Anyone here ever write to him?"

"No," Cloud answered first. No one said anything for a few seconds, as they were all chewing, but Cloud took the silence as judgment and turned pink in the face, his volume rising despite himself. "Why are you looking at me like that? No one here but Gen even has a love life to write about."

Genesis chuckled, and Zack let his jaw drop comically as he whacked Cloud's shoulder with his spoon. Angeal said what they were all thinking: "Okay, so Cloud has definitely written to Red Leather before. Anyone else?"

"I've thought about it a few times," Zack confessed easily. "I'm not so good at reading signals and that kind of thing. I don't know how much a stranger could help me though, you know?"

"Yes, but I think Red Leather has proved himself more than capable of handling the issues of his peers in the past," Sephiroth added, and Genesis' whole being flushed with adoration for a moment. Ah, but he loved that boy.

Genesis was too distracted thinking about which question could have been Cloud's to realize that Zack was speaking to him. There were the shy ones, about confessing a crush, or the ones from those who wanted to know safe ways to practice BDSM on a partner who was uninitiated to it, or those from students who merely wanted help coming out as queer to friends and family. He had thought Cloud was entirely uninterested in anything to do with romance, and solid in his identity.

Zack tossed a French fry at him.

"What?"

"Have you ever written in to _Gift of the Goddess?"_

"No," Genesis said easily, waving his hand. "Do you really think I, of all people, would need someone's help with love?"

Cloud smiled at him, as full of faith as he always was. "I was going to say—if you weren't a senior, you should have replaced Red Leather when he graduated. You'd be good at it."

"You think so?" Genesis batted his eyelashes.

Angeal confessed that he always forgot about the school paper and hadn't even touched one since sometime sophomore year. Genesis resisted the urge to narrow his eyes and demand he pick one up right that instant.

"And you, Seph?"

"I haven't, but I am fairly sure that Red Leather would be able to help with any problems I might have."

Genesis leant back in his chair and surveyed his friends, unable to stop himself from smiling widely. "Just so you all know," he said clearly, interrupting whatever Zack and Angeal were talking about, "I _am_ here to give you all advice if you ever need it, right? Fuck Red Leather. I care more about you all than he ever could anyway."

He did the column because he cared, and because he wanted the school populace to be okay—and especially so his favorite people, the four young men before him.

"Yeah Gen," Zack said with a cheesy smile on his face to reflect back at him, "We know."

* * *

 _To Confused Chocobo,  
_ _I am going to tell you the same thing that I have told many people during my time as editor of this column: it is okay to be selfish. You say you have feelings for your friend, and it is highly likely that they feel the same for you—but you are already on the verge of giving up, just because he loves someone else? Don't sell yourself short, sweetheart. It sounds like you have very solid chances with this boy. You could be great for him as well, you know. And, hey, here's some more advice, if you like this third boy as well—why not have him too? This campus could use more threesomes, I always say… but hey. Seriously, your crush having another crush is no reason to give up. Wishing you all the best – let us know how it goes.  
_ _Red Leather_

Genesis sighed as he saved the document and closed his laptop. He would fiddle with his response later, tweak it a bit, mull over it for a day or two more before the deadline, but for now that would do. Midgar University's campus was particularly gusty today, and Genesis shivered as he glanced across the wide green lawn at the mass of students walking to class.

Beside him Angeal rolled over onto his side. "I brought you another jacket. It's in my backpack."

"What the hell."

"I knew you wouldn't dress warmly enough."

Genesis frowned at him but nevertheless unzipped his bag and pulled on the warm, zippable hoodie he found inside. He flopped down beside Angeal on the blanket they had towed outside and shifted nearer, wiggling until he was close, almost pressed up against him.

Angeal grabbed at his hand as he rolled over onto his back and hooked his pointer and middle finger around Genesis's pinky. "Seph has been acting weird lately."

Genesis stayed quiet and knew Angeal would continue. He didn't mind Angeal playing with his fingers; he rather liked it in fact—Angeal's own small nervous and affectionate gestures only served to endear him.

"We were hanging out the other night," he eventually did, speaking into the vastness of the gray sky, "and we were joking and stuff, like we always do. Watched a movie on his bed. It was some stupid action thing, I don't know… but I said that I was going to bring Zack with me to Paris one day, just not if it was destroyed." Genesis squinted an eye at the disjointed story but figured he could piece together the parts Angeal was leaving out. He always had been a terrible storyteller.

"And?"

"Seph got weird. We were sitting next to each other, kind of leaning, but he moved a few feet away and stayed there for the rest of the movie."

"Did he say anything?"

"Not really."

Genesis turned his head so he could observe his friend. Angeal was scruffier than usual, and it was hard to resist the urge to trace the sharp, scratchy cut of his jaw with his thumb. "He's jealous of your friendship with Zack?"

 _Or jealous_ of _Zack?_ He wanted to ask, but didn't, because that was too much, _or even jealous of_ you?

"I don't see why he would be. We've been friends since orientation."

"And you've known Zack three years. One year isn't a huge difference." Angeal said nothing, frowning upwards. His fingers tightened around Genesis's briefly and the redhead returned it, stroking his thumb against Angeal's knuckle. "You should probably make it obvious how much you care for him. We all know Seph can get insecure sometimes."

"Yeah. Guess I should."

Genesis rolled over onto his side, trapping their held hands against his belly. "Take him out on a date. Kiss him a little. Bring him back to your place with flowers and a bottle of wine—"

" _Okay,_ that's enough." Angeal looked mortified and Genesis laughed loudly, bumping his forehead against the side of his best friend's head. He rolled over to plop onto his back and extracted his hand, folding his arms under his head. He had been joking about Angeal and Seph, (mostly,) but the _kiss me instead_ on the tip of his tongue was hardly amusing.

"Why are our friends all so complicated?" Angeal asked, and though his tone was bitter he smiled at the end of his sentence. He seemed lighter.

"You say that like you aren't the most complicated of them all."

Angeal nudged him. "I am not."

"You are. But luckily for you I'm an expert in Hewley. Twenty-two years of practice."

"Whatever you say."

Genesis moved his arms out from behind his head and reached for Angeal's hand again. It was much warmer than anything else on the campus.

The chair he was in was in danger of tipping backwards but Genesis hardly noticed, too concerned with the thoughts in his head, eyes closed, hands clasped together in front of his mouth like a prayer. "Hmmmmm…"

His eyebrows drew together as he considered this week's submissions to _The Gift of the Goddess._ There were a few more than usual, and they were juicy too. _The Megaphone_ came out on Mondays, and Genesis usually started working on that week's questions on Tuesday, to allow time for any responses or rebuttals later on in the week. Once he had gotten a marvelous question late Sunday night and had raced to his office in the twilight hours to ensure it reached the Monday edition of the paper, but that was rare.

 _Red Leather,_ read one submission, entered via their electronic form on the school paper's website,

 _This is my first time writing to_ The Gift of the Goddess _too. I think I'm in a situation sort of like Confused Chocobo's. I've been itching to ask my best friend out for about six months or so… but I think he's into his roommate. I'm also totally into another friend of mine, but I think_ he _is into_ his _best friend. This isn't an issue of me selling myself short or lacking confidence in myself, I just—do you have anything to say about how to get over that friend barrier? I don't want to mess our friendships up with any romantic stuff—these guys are so important to me.  
_ _First Class Babe_

Genesis was thrilled as hell to get so many questions from, he assumed, queer folks; sometimes he went weeks with only those from girls asking about birthday gift advice for their boyfriends. Although he appreciated those questions, and they were not any less welcome or important than others, he occasionally worried that other students on campus of different sexual and romantic orientations felt they were unwelcome, or that their questions wouldn't be published. He always took extra care to make those public and visible, though with the ten-a-week limit it wasn't always possible. That was what the hand-written letters with his fancy _Red Leather_ signature were for; he hoped that everyone who wrote felt appreciated in some way.

But damn. They weren't going easy on him this week, huh?

He answered a few about confessing crushes and getting over a breakup, and encountered another one that gave him pause.

 _Red Leather,  
_ _Please forgive me if this question has been asked before. I am not a follower of_ The Megaphone _and I haven't read this column in a few years, but some friends reminded me of it a few days ago so I thought I would ask a question. I do not know how to make it clear to a friend of mine that I love him. He has his own love interests, some I am sure of and some I just suspect, and they don't seem to include me. I am fine with that, but I cherish him all the same—he is my closest friend, and even if my feelings are not returned I would like him to know how much he means to me. Thank you for your time.  
_ _A Gardener_

Genesis burst out laughing and nearly landed on his ass on the floor. "Oh, Angeal," he murmured as all four chair legs hit the carpet. It was obvious that it was Angeal Hewley. If Red Leather had been anyone else, his identity may have been safe, but Genesis _knew_ him. 'The Gardener,' seriously? He read the message over again.

It seemed it was about Sephiroth…

Genesis propped his cheek up on his fist and stared at the message again. His eyes unfocused for a moment, and then he frowned, shaking himself slightly back to awareness. He ran his hands over his face for a moment, let out a stressed, "Shit," and turned back to it. There was no point replying in the paper, but how would he play it off…?

Angeal wanted to 'make it clear' to Sephiroth that he loved him. Genesis frowned at the line, _He has his own love interests, some I am sure of and some I just suspect, and they don't seem to include me._ Genesis didn't know of anyone that Sephiroth concretely was interested in—it was all speculation and teasing on his part. That did not mean Angeal didn't—he and Sephiroth were close, very much so.

As for Sephiroth not returning Angeal's affection… that was bullshit. Genesis could see, now that Angeal had inadvertently pointed it out, that Sephiroth was absolutely silly for him. It was one of those 'sweet friends turn into lovers' tropes, and that made him smile.

Oh, Angeal. A selfless sonuvabitch— _even if my feelings are not returned I would like him to know how much he means to me._

The situation was almost cruel.

He saw Angeal in person the next day, when their entire group met up to hang out in Zack's room. His roommate, Kunsel, was rarely in and usually at his girlfriend's place so it served their purposes. When Genesis arrived Angeal was sitting next to Cloud, chin on his shoulder, and watching as the blond tapped away at his handheld game system. "Ouch," he murmured to the junior, and chuckled at something Cloud's character did.

"Hi everyone," Genesis announced , dropping his backpack onto Zack's desk. "Angeal. Hallway."

Angeal looked bewildered but Genesis paid him no mind. He raised his arms as Angeal got close, wrapping them around his shoulders and walking backwards out of the room. "C'mere handsome," he cooed, ignoring the way Zack laughed brightly at them.

When the door was shut and they were out in the hallway Genesis's arms slid away and he cupped Angeal's face in his hands. He looked confused, but went along with Genesis like he always had, and always would.

Genesis loved this man, he really did; he supposed he hadn't realized exactly how much until he had to give him away.

"I'm friends with Red Leather." He patted Angeal's cheek and dropped his hands entirely.

"What?"

" _I_ am _friends_ with Red Leather. I was informed of a submission for _The Gift of the Goddess_ from _A Gardener_ which was you, wasn't it?"

Angeal's mouth was hanging open, and his familiar blue eyes filled with something like panic. "Genesis, I…"

"Don't worry about it," Genesis said, shrugging, "I'm not allowed to reveal his identity, but he was in a class of mine last semester. You're—" he lowered his voice a bit, "—in love with Sephiroth, then?" He nodded approvingly. "I think you should go for it. Your chances with him are incredibly high, I would say; I wouldn't worry that he doesn't feel the same for you."

"What?"

"Don't be coy. It's okay, Angeal."

"No, Gen— _what?_ "

Genesis blinked. "You didn't submit a message to Red Leather?"

"No, I… I did. You think I'm in love with Sephiroth?"

Genesis's eyes narrowed. "You're not?"

Angeal hesitated. He opened his mouth to speak, then his gaze cut to the 'How Much to Drink is Too Much?' poster taped by Zack's RA on the wall beside them. "I suppose I… I wouldn't call it love, but he's Seph. I've known for months that when it comes to him, I'm… That letter though, it wasn't…"

"Lovebirds," came Cloud's voice. They turned and saw the sweet-faced blond eyeing them, just his head sticking out of the doorway. "Come back in. We're going to watch the movie now."

"You have my full approval," Genesis said firmly. "So don't worry. I've always wanted you to be happy, Angeal, and if that's Sephiroth—so be it."

Angeal was evidently at a loss for words, so Genesis gently grabbed his elbow and steered him back into Zack's room. For the duration of the movie Angeal sat as far away from both Sephiroth and Genesis as possible, sandwiching himself between Zack and Cloud. Sephiroth looked like he was staring at Cloud, but it was probably Zack (his angle _was_ a little odd, so it was entirely plausible he was seeing things wrong), upset on some level about Angeal sitting with him instead.

Genesis carefully schooled his face into neutral. He wanted to shake his friends, all of them, and get some damn answers.

The sexuality of the group was not really a normal topic of conversation. They talked about classes and stupid, regular stuff, not their innermost, tender feelings… and yet Genesis figured he had a halfway decent grasp on how his best friends ticked. If he had to guess he would say that all of them would try a relationship—or at least one night—with another man; as far as he knew Cloud and Angeal had never outwardly expressed interest in men before, but Zack was openly pansexual. Angeal was evidently infatuated with Sephiroth, and Cloud… well, he had a half-naked poster of Vincent Valentine over his bed and blushed horribly whenever anyone so much as _looked_ at it, let alone questioned him about it, so he figured there was a chance. He also was a little too touchy with Zack and smiled so sweetly when Genesis flirted with him, his lines always over-the-top (but those were the best to laugh off and joke about if things went awry).

Inter-group incest, though?

Genesis' _own_ complications notwithstanding he never would have thought—or perhaps had never dared to think—that any of these assholes would have developed anything for each other. It made his head ache already. Still, there was no denying the weird vibes and the intense, increasing closeness he had been sensing from their group since the end of the previous semester, no matter how often he pretended to ignore it all.

Looking at them though, with Angeal finally relaxing a bit and Sephiroth engrossed in the film, his bright eyes luminous in the dark, Genesis felt at ease, despite it all.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. A message from Scarlet. _Hey. Elena went home for the night. I know you have class in the morning, but do you have some free time?_

"Sorry to bail," Genesis said hurriedly, standing up and moving towards the wall to grab his bag, "But my lady calls."

"See you," Cloud said after a pause. The others mumbled goodbyes and Genesis swept from the room. The hallway smelled like hastily-shampooed puke carpet and twenty-year-old anxiety, but once the door shut behind him Genesis felt like he could finally breathe.

* * *

 _Dear Afflicted Anthro Minor,  
_ _Your boyfriend sounds like a real derriere. (Forgive me, they wouldn't allow me to print *** in The Megaphone.) Drop him. I think if you ask any of your friends you mentioned they would tell you the same, and that they will have your back through this. Good luck.  
_ _Red Leather (sorry if you can't read my handwriting!)_

 _Dear cactuarXcheese,  
_ _It seems like you already know the answer to your question, dear. You don't need me to tell you what you already know. Our Inclusion Center (available here XXX-XXX-XXXX and here IC . midgar . edu) has resources to help you with any additional gender-related issues you may have. For what it's worth, you are very brave. Wishing you all the best.  
_ _Red Leather_

 _Dear First Class Babe,  
_ _I am sorry to tell you this, but the answer to your question is highly arbitrary. Deciding whether to reveal to friends that you desire more than friendship depends on those involved, and the nature of your friendship. I will say this: be prepared for rejection. Have a backup plan. Even if a friend does not return your romantic feelings that does not mean they feel any less for you than you do for them—it may just be of a different nature. If you are the type who will angrily abandon your friends if they say 'no,' then I am telling you not to ask. Neither of the important men you seem to be into deserve that. As for telling them, you should be honest. This is too tricky to play coy. Good luck!  
_ _Red Leather_

 _Dear RedLeatherFan,  
_ _No, I cannot reveal my identity. But that would be a thrilling romance, wouldn't it? Perhaps I'm in one of your classes… better look harder! And no, I'm not that kinky a person, despite my pseudonym. I'm sure we can work something out, however.  
_ _Much love,  
_ _Red Leather_

* * *

Angeal was not answering his texts, so Genesis went for a walk. He finally brought his coat along, grumbling to himself as he zipped it up to his neck and pulled on jeans. One of the great things about Midgar U's campus was how big it was—there were lots of places to sit and do homework, and more than a few choice locations to hide away with a sweetheart (and Genesis should know, as he was the one who recommended them all to his friends). He put in his headphones and let his feet lead him.

He strolled all over campus and then ended up a few blocks away from campus at a smelly, dirty garage.

Cloud would more than do.

Instead of going in the front he walked around the back and ducked under the retractable door. Cloud was in his usual spot, bent over a motorcycle and up to his elbows in grease. Genesis gave him a gentle spank, smiling brightly as Cloud looked up, horrified.

"Hello _you_."

"Gen," Cloud mumbled, embarrassed. He straightened up and studied him. "You okay?"

Shit, the blond was, as ever, too good. "I'm fine."

Cloud hummed. "I'm clocking out in twenty minutes. Want to wait?"

"I don't have anything better to do, so sure. I'll wait around front."

"Okay. Thanks."

Genesis did have better things to do than hang around with Cloud—he had a paper due in two days, more Red Leather responses to get to, he hadn't been to the gym in four days, and his parents wanted him to call them. Not to mention he still had to get ahold of Angeal. He didn't _want_ to do that though—he wanted to be with Cloud.

So he would.

He waited patiently and eventually Cloud emerged looking tired but pleased that he was there. Cloud always seemed so grateful to spend any amount of time with him; it melted his heart. Something in the back of his mind from his freshman psychology class made him want to psychoanalyze his friend, poke at the abandonment and trust issues he seemed to have from childhood, but resisted.

"Back from the war, I see."

Cloud held up his hands, now clean, but pink from all the scrubbing he'd done in the back. "I go through an awful lot for a shitty unpaid internship."

Genesis peered behind Cloud to make sure his supervisor hadn't heard anything, but Cloud didn't even seem worried. "Brave," he murmured, approving, and patted his arm. "Let's walk."

Their feet led them to a familiar place—a small coffee shop on campus where Genesis in particular liked to do a lot of his homework. Cloud was the only person Genesis knew who ordered black coffee and the senior sneered at his cup as they sat down on a couch in the corner. "Gross."

Cloud just shrugged, and took a hesitant sip.

"How was your class this morning?"

"Alright."

"You met up for a group project yesterday night, yes? How'd that go?"

"Fine."

Genesis fixed Cloud with a flat expression. "Cloud."

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong with you?" Cloud looked away, shifty, and Genesis grabbed the edge of the neck of his stupid, sexy leather jacket. He pulled him a little bit closer with it, tugging affectionately. "Tell me what's up."

"Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" Cloud countered.

"I have a test tomorrow and I haven't studied yet," Genesis said, the lie coming off his tongue with ease. Cloud pursed his lips and looked irritated at him, but accepted it.

"It's…" Cloud bit his lip and took a few sips of his coffee, mulling over his words. "Are you the type to sit back when you want to ask someone out, or be proactive?"

 _Cha-Ching._ Genesis had to stop his eyes from glittering in excitement. His little Cloud, _really_?

"Be proactive," he answered truthfully. Well, it was mostly the truth—there were a few notable, pressing, very close-by exceptions, on which he had sat on his feelings for months and planned to for many more, but those were special cases. Cloud hummed and looked into the depths of his cup as if it held answers. "You're having trouble taking action?"

"I guess." Cloud shrugged. "What if… you like more than one person? How do you decide who to… be proactive with?"

It was extremely hard to not wiggle his eyebrows. The plot thickened…

"I dunno, Cloud. You'll have to decide who you like more, or who is more likely to want to go on a date."

Cloud scowled, clearly not liking his answer, but probably knowing that it was the best he was going to get. Genesis was no miracle worker, despite his expertise. He nudged his friend. "Though maybe if you're this confused about it it means you're not ready to ask anyone at all."

"I feel like I need to do something soon, or I'll burst," Cloud replied, his voice hollow. "I've liked this person—these people—for ages, it feels like. I can't keep doing this. It's hard, Gen. Keeping it all in."

"Tell me about it."

The two young men sighed and sipped at their drinks in silence for a few minutes. Then Genesis couldn't resist asking, "Who is it? I might be able to help you more if you tell me who it is."

Cloud nearly fumbled his cup, and instantly reddened. "I'm not telling you."

"Oh, come on."

"No."

He was unable to pry the juiciest bit of gossip of all out of his friend, and they parted ways after another hour of talking, just shooting the shit, really—it had been a while since Genesis relaxed like that, even with Angeal weighing so heavily on his mind. They parted outside on the quad, preparing to go to their own dorms that were in different directions, but not before Cloud drew him in close and looked him into the eye.

Cloud was the shortest out of their group, and the shyest by far. He was uncomfortable with words, although he tried, the clumsy type with a big heart. He didn't seem short, though, not as he stared Genesis down with his pretty brows furrowed. Cloud seemed unaffected by the chilly wind, and his body radiated warmth.

"Genesis," he murmured, and for the briefest of moments Genesis could have sworn Cloud's gaze dropped to his lips before sliding back up. "You don't have a test tomorrow. I'm here when you're ready to tell me what's bothering you."

Genesis swallowed. "…I know."

"Hm." Cloud offered a gentle smile, and then retracted. "See you soon, I'm sure."

"Bye, Cloud."

* * *

Genesis rarely violated his own rules, but it happened. Sometimes he got messages for Red Leather that were submitted close to the Sunday evening deadline, and although he usually let them sit until the following week or responded to them in person, he was quite happy to make allowances for success stories.

 _Dear Red Leather,_ the letter began,

 _I did it. Your encouragement two weeks ago gave me the push I needed to ask out my friend. I did it just a few hours ago. I told him how much he means to me… and although I was worried about our other friend, the one I know he's into (and truthfully I'm into as well), I did it anyway. And it worked. He was so surprised… It was over the phone because I was too afraid to do it in person but I'm seeing him later. I think we both still have some questions we need answered but I'm happy. Thanks.  
_ _Confused Chocobo_

 _Alright!_ Genesis responded, _That's fantastic to hear. It sounds like you deserve this boy, Chocobo. Wishing you all the best from_ The Megaphone.  
 _Red Leather_

It warmed his heart to hear people hooking up and being happy around him—it really did. He beamed the whole way back from his office in Junon to his dorm. His roommate Tseng was out, at a club meeting. Genesis crawled into bed and tried not to think about how Angeal and Scarlet both hadn't texted him in a few days.

* * *

 _Dear Red Leather,  
_ _I have the hots for one of my professors. What do I do? HELP! I'm embarrassing myself by giggling every time she calls on me in class!  
_ _CalcSucks_

 _Yo Red Leather,  
_ _In kind of a weird way, things worked out with one of my friends! (Though I've still got to sort out my feelings for the other ones.) Thanks for the help last time about the friend barrier thing. It's only been a few days but already I'm wondering why I thought it would be so difficult and strange to cross that line… I do have another question though. How soon is too soon to start all that typical boyfriend stuff?  
_ _First Class Babe_

… _,  
_ _I earned $900 a week doing ONE SIMPLE! SMALL TRICK,, the realtors don;t want you to learn about my secret. If you want €900 of easy income you can do fromhome then click this link! tvgWtPxna . freemoney . lifestream . com..  
_ _Tnaoeiz;._

 _Red Leather,  
_ _How do you make your intentions clear? Do you have any tips? I am in a very confusing situation at the moment and have to set things right with several people.  
_ _Buster_

* * *

 _The Megaphone's_ biweekly meetings were always torturous. Many of the other staff members were journalism and print communications majors, who were serious about writing and transmitting information to the masses. Genesis studied Theater and Literature and had never taken a class about how to properly write news articles and such. He didn't actually care that much about the rest of the paper and only read the articles that interested him, or those written by friends.

The rest of the staff knew that he was Red Leather and he knew some resented him for it. _Gift of the Goddess_ was arguably the most popular section of _The Megaphone;_ there were several students who only picked up the papers to get the love and romance advice and then discarded the rest. Genesis hardly paid attention to their meetings and worked on answering questions instead, sitting with his legs propped up on the desk in front of him and his laptop on his thighs.

"Any comments?" The President, Yuffie, asked.

Genesis raised his hand. "I have one. We need to update our spam filters again. I've been getting questions about making money and losing weight with pills for the past two weeks. I assume that the comments section of our online articles will be the same soon enough."

Their tech person, Hollis Jones—who went by HoJo—sighed and dropped his head onto the table. Genesis didn't envy him.

They discussed the front cover of the next couple of issues, some retractions that had to be made for incorrect information, and the protests of a few Professors who were taking issue with the content of a few articles.

"They'll never silence us!" Yuffie cried, standing on top of her chair. Genesis had been in several Drama classes with her over the years, and rolled his eyes. "We are the megaphone of the people!"

Genesis stretched languidly in his seat when they were done and packed up his things. As expected Sephiroth was waiting for him out in the hallway, sitting on the ground near an electrical outlet and tapping away on his tablet. Genesis smiled warmly and crouched beside him, gently gripping his shoulder to balance himself.

"Thanks for waiting."

"No problem." Sephiroth continued to type and murmured, "One minute, my apologies." Genesis shifted to sit on the ground beside him, their legs pressed together all the way from thigh to ankle. Genesis closed his eyes and rested his head against his friend's shoulder, relaxing for the ten or so minutes it took him to finish up the conclusion of his paper. Sephiroth finally shut his laptop, muttered something about proofreading later, and pulled Genesis to his feet.

"Where do you want to go?"

"My place, if that's okay."

"Of course it is." Genesis frowned at Sephiroth as they walked together to Sephiroth's dorm. His friend was quiet, moreso than usual, and was more polite than usual as well. He opened the door for Genesis and let him in first, mumbling an apology about the state of the room he shared with Cloud. It was hardly a mess and Sephiroth's half was perfect.

Genesis perched on Sephiroth's bed and his friend sat in his chair. Due to midterms and the like he hadn't seen his friend in a little over a week. Something was very clearly wrong.

"Seph?" Gen asked.

Sephiroth just smiled humorlessly at his question, like Genesis's gentle probing didn't surprise him one bit. He got up and sat beside Genesis. Their thighs touched again but Sephiroth didn't look at him.

"I believe I am in need of some expertise."

Genesis nodded. "Understood."

"I think Cloud is angry with me."

"Why would you think that?"

Sephiroth sighed and raked a hand through his long hair. He pulled it all over his shoulder, the one closest to Genesis, like it would help shield his face from view. "He has only slept in his bed twice in the past two weeks."

"Where has he been?"

"Zack's, I am fairly sure."

Genesis hummed. "Did you two fight?"

"No, not that I'm aware of. It just happened one day. Whenever he comes back he acts suspiciously too—uncomfortable."

Genesis fell silent, thinking it over. Sephiroth spoke first, swallowing audibly beforehand. His hands clenched into fists over the fabric of his pants.

"Genesis," he said carefully. "I cannot handle the thought of Cloud being angry with me."

Their eyes met, and Sephiroth communicated something there that he could not with words.

"How long?" Genesis asked, his mouth dry.

Sephiroth sat cross-legged on the bed. He looked absolutely miserable. "Quite some time. I did not want to disturb what we have."

"We as in you and Cloud, or us as a group?"

Sephiroth looked hesitant. "As…a group, I suppose."

He wanted to grab his friend's shoulders and shout _No! Angeal loves you, dumbass!_ but resisted, sitting on his hands to physically stop himself.

"So you think he's staying at Zack's to get away from you…?" Genesis frowned. "Is he in class now?"

"No."

"Let's call him."

" _No."_

Genesis was already dialing, and Cloud answered after a few rings. "Hello?" There was quite a bit of background noise, talking and movement.

"Cloud. Hello, sunshine. Haven't seen you in a little while."

"Yeah. I miss you. You wanna hang out one of these days? I've been busy."

"Busy? With what?"

"Uuuuuuh." Cloud paused, and Genesis picked up on giggling in the background.

"Is that Zack?"

Beside him, Sephiroth frowned.

"Oh, yeah. I've just been hanging out with Zack a lot lately. No real reason."

"Sephiroth is here. Do you mind talking to him for a minute?"

The man in question was making _no_ gestures with his hands but Genesis shoved the phone into his hands. Sephiroth stared at it for a long moment before holding it to his ear.

"Cloud?"

Genesis watched as Sephiroth's face morphed into sorrow. He murmured into the phone, his eyes closing. The tense lines on his forehead and the tightness of his jaw relaxed as Cloud spoke to him, and before Genesis's eyes the man's expression transformed into a gentle, private smile. It was meant for Cloud, and not for him, but Cloud was out with Zack so Genesis witnessed it instead. Genesis's stomach clenched in discomfort.

"Cloud," Sephiroth began. He glanced at Genesis as if to remind himself of the redhead's support and went on. "You aren't angry with me, are you? I have hardly seen you…"

Although Genesis could not make out the exact words he could hear Cloud's exuberant denial from where he sat. Sephiroth's tiny smile grew.

When Sephiroth hung up the smile was still on his face. "He isn't angry at me," Sephiroth said, and passed Genesis's cell back. "I don't know why he's been spending so much time with Zack, but he and I are fine."

Genesis finally let himself embrace Sephiroth like he wanted. He wrapped his arms around Sephiroth and squeezed. He felt happy for him, and vaguely sick. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything, not with Sephiroth looking on the verge of sickness himself. His smile was so hesitant, and Genesis would not shatter it.

Sephiroth uncharacteristically allowed the hug, and even rested his head on Genesis's shoulder. He tipped the redhead backward so they could lie there together on Sephiroth's bed. Genesis peered at the ceiling as he ran his fingers through Sephiroth's long hair. He had done that at a frat party freshman year, absolutely wasted, attracted across a crowded basement room to the waterfall of silver. Sephiroth had been weirded out but they'd been friends ever since.

"Where were they?"

" _Reeve's_."

Genesis blinked. "That's an expensive restaurant."

"I know." Sephiroth shrugged, not thinking anything of it, but Genesis frowned. He hesitated before saying anything else as his mind worked in overdrive.

"And he's been sleeping over Zack's too, right? Has Kunsel been around?"

"I doubt it."

Sephiroth shifted ever so slightly and Genesis became intimately aware of how his thigh was between Sephiroth's. If he nudged his leg forward just a bit, or ducked his head to capture the lips so close to his jaw…

"Have you spoken to Angeal lately?" he asked instead, sucking in a breath.

"A few days ago, yes."

"How is he? Nothing… abnormal?"

"Abnormal how?"

 _Confessing his love for you would count as abnormal,_ Genesis thought sourly. "I don't know. He's been avoiding my texts for two weeks now."

"Have _you_ fought?"

"No," Genesis sighed. "I'm not sure what it is." He did, maybe.

He slept over that night and stayed in Cloud's bed, as Cloud did not return. Sephiroth seemed grumpy about this but was clearly pleased to have Genesis stay in return. When Genesis left for class the next morning he tiptoed out, as Sephiroth would still be asleep for another hour or two.

 _Dammit._ He was Midgar U's Red Leather—he was supposed to be able to help anyone. When it was his friends being the confusing ones who needed sorting he was stuck, however. For once Genesis wished someone else had this responsibility, because it was starting to look like keeping everyone happy wasn't going to happen.

* * *

 _Dear Red Leather,  
_ _Joint message here. We have a friend who needs some help, but we don't know what to offer him. He is the type to put others before himself. He focuses on the happiness of his friends at his own expense, and sleeps with anyone who will have him instead of anyone who he actually cares for, or who cares for him. How do you make it clear to someone their worth? How do you get someone to focus on themselves?  
_ _Clickety-Clack_

Genesis stared at his laptop screen for a long time. He occasionally moved his hands toward the keyboard and began to type with confidence, but it always dried up before long. He deleted his words four times before sighing and staring at his knees.

This one would take some more time to answer.

* * *

Red Leather's regular correspondences got Genesis through the rest of midterms. He loved it when certain people continuously wrote in. The connection was faceless but there was something there, something that made him smile. That made it worth four years of this shit, to be sure.

There were a few people who kept writing in week after week—Confused Chocobo, First Class Babe, Buster, and PhysicsPrincess. Confused Chocobo was happily getting on with his new boyfriend, but was struggling to bring up to his partner that he was evidently into someone else (or even more people?) as well. First Class Babe, similar to Confused Chocobo, was having his own polyamorous issues. First Class Babe wanted to absorb other people into his relationship but was again hung up on the fact that they were friends. Buster needed assistance working out his own thoughts and wanted to know how to apologize for neglecting friends and making truth clear to them. Genesis huffed at his cell phone, still void of messages from Angeal. _That_ was someone who needed to apologize for neglectfulness. PhysicsPrincess was going through a bad breakup and needed a kind ear to listen as she vented.

Being so focused on Red Leather's companions meant that he was doing some neglecting of his own, however. It was _stressful_ , trying to figure out what to do about his own friends. There was no distance, no objectivity, far too much romantic involvement of his own, and yet… he wanted to make it right. If his suspicions were right then his friend group was an absolute _mess,_ and nobody knew it but him.

That meant that it fell on his shoulders to fix it all, right? Right?

He couldn't just _tell_ Sephiroth that he suspected Zack and Cloud were fucking, nor could he reveal to him that Angeal still had yet to ask him out. He wanted to grab Angeal's shoulders and scream. He wanted to scream anyway—Scarlet was losing interest in him, too, and that was fine, but devastating. Their relationship was just sex anyway; there were no feelings, but sex had come to be one of his most effective destressers.

He poured his heart into _Gift of the Goddess_ instead. Most of his responses to his regulars were handwritten now. It did not seem right to publish their messages, at this point, in the paper. He chose the one-and-dones instead, and left the others in his box outside the room. He found himself sitting in his _Megaphone_ cubicle for more time than just his office hours required, and at the next biweekly meeting someone commented on it.

"You've been here a lot, Genesis. Is everything okay with _Gift of the Goddess?_ "

"It's fine," Genesis scoffed, folding his arms and looking to the side. "We've just had more questions than usual. Is it possible to increase to twelve published responses a week?"

"We'll think about it," Yuffie told him.

When he emerged from the meeting Sephiroth was not waiting for him, and that, compounded with everything else, made him want to hurl his backpack at the wall. He stormed out of the building, his fall coat billowing behind him, heeled boots clacking on the tiled floors of Junon.

He nearly barreled right into Zack Fair, who was waiting for him outside of the building.

"Woah, woah, Gen!"

Genesis stopped and looked up in confusion.

"Hey!" Zack slung an arm over his shoulders and started to drag him down the sidewalk. "Haven't seen you much lately, man. What were you in Junon for?"

"Huh?" Genesis wanted to shake him loose, but had not had a friendly touch in over a week. Had it really been that long? He let Zack's arm remain where it was.

"Seph texted me," he explained. "Said he had to go to a Prof's office hours and couldn't meet up with you here, for whatever reason." Zack tilted his head. "Why does he usually wait here for you?"

"I just go to a club meeting at this time," Genesis said shiftily, leaning into Zack's warmth. "He waits for me to get out."

"Never really took ya for a club guy. Which one?"

"Printmaking," Genesis replied, because it was the only one he knew of that met at the same time as _The Megaphone._

"…Seriously?" Zack raised his eyebrows. "That's, uh, really great."

Genesis elbowed him.

"I'm going to the library to use their printers—you wanna come with…?"

"Sure."

Zack Fair was usually happy, occasionally exasperating, definitely caring, and always a joy to be with. There were twenty questions for his friend burning at the tip of his tongue but Genesis bit them back, deciding that just _hanging_ with Zack was preferable for at least today. He had been doing too much heavy thinking lately.

"What are you printing?"

"Readings," Zack sighed. On a library computer he brought up all the long PDFs he had to print—and there were five for his classes the next day. Zack's Government classes were positively brutal. Genesis himself had gross numbers of pages to read every week but those were at least from poetry collections or novels, not philosophical murmurings over the roles of the market.

They sat across from each other in comfy chairs on the library's basement level when Zack was done, and finally got to talk. Genesis tried to keep his face even but it was hard; he had so much to ask Zack, and so much to figure out. To his surprise Zack seemed slightly off as well. He kept narrowing his eyes at what Genesis was saying and nodding his head, the gears clearly working in that brain of his. In some ways Zack was worse than Cloud—he would pick up on anything.

"How have you been, Gen?" Zack asked, gently, leaning forward so he could rest his hands on Genesis's knees. "You look tired. You eating enough and all that?"

"I'm fine," Genesis snapped, but at Zack's expression he bowed his head. "Sorry. I'm fine."

"I think that was a good example of you being _not_ fine." Zack spoke kindly to him, and when Genesis looked back up Zack squeezed one knee. "What's up? I heard from Seph that you've been kind of stressed."

Frown. "I guess I am, yeah. It's just—homework."

"You're done with Scarlet, yeah?"

"How do you know that?"

Zack just shrugged and waited patiently. "…Yes," Genesis admitted. "She has a girlfriend now."

"Sorry, man."

"It's fine. She's happy."

"But what about you?" Genesis belatedly realized that Zack was rubbing his thumb across the fabric of Genesis's jeans as he spoke, and had not moved his hands since the conversation started. "You gotta be happy too, Gen."

He had still not answered the two-week-old question from Clickety-Clack, the one about the friend who slept around and put others before themselves. It burned a guilty hole in his conscience.

"Of course I'm happy."

 _I'm pissed off and lonely,_ his eyes begged, so he stared at Zack's hands on his body so he wouldn't witness.

"Aw, come on… even I can see you've been down lately. Angeal was asking about you."

"He was?"

"Yeah. He said that he's concerned about the Scarlet thing and knows you'd probably want company… you two didn't fight, did ya?"

"How does everyone know about Scarlet!?"

"Her girlfriend is in Angeal's Chemistry class. He told me about it."

"Dammit. No, we didn't fight." He had barely spoken to his best friend in almost a month, and the few times they had met up Angeal had been distant and vague, acting like he was holding himself back from saying whatever he wanted to say. It was getting so old. "And I'm _fine._ "

Zack pursed his lips but acquiesced. "We just worry about you, Gen."

When they went their separate ways Zack drew him into one of his hugs, the nice kind, where he held you tight instead of patting your back quickly in an awkward attempt to get away. It was dark out so Genesis did not feel embarrassed to rest his head on Zack's shoulder—and it was highly unlikely he'd give a shit anyway. The stupidly tall junior smelled like _boyfriend,_ what the fuck—he was warm and friendly and magnetic, damn it, Zack always was.

"Take it easy, a'ight? Cloud and I worry about you."

"You and Cloud?" Genesis asked, raising his head.

Zack rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, but continued to hug Genesis with the other. "Uhh. I mean, yeah. We care about you, man!"

"Hm." Genesis grunted.

"See you soon!" Zack called when they parted. Genesis hunched his shoulders in response.

* * *

Knowing that his readers were finding their own happiness was the most rewarding thing. Genesis was tired and perpetually hungry, spending more hours in his cubicle in Junon than out, but he was satisfied. The new quickness of his paper responses outside in the hallway had prompted even more questions, but Genesis didn't mind. Working on them gave him something to do—something fun, at least, unlike his homework, which he hadn't looked at in a few days.

It felt like some of the questions were following him though, but it had to be in his head. Confused Chocobo and First Class Babe were now asking about friends who were pulling away and not taking care of themselves. Buster wanted to know more about polyamory as well, which led to a few interesting hours of internet searching so he was well-read enough to give a decent response.

A few weird questions aside, the rest were going fine. After the next _Megaphone_ meeting Genesis hid out in the conference room for half an hour before tiptoeing out and back to his cubicle down the hall. If Sephiroth had been there waiting for him he was gone now.

Angeal finally messaged him. _Gen, I'd like to talk to you about some stuff. I'm sorry for being a dick lately. Let me explain? I'll buy you dinner—your pick._

Genesis scoffed at it and shoved his phone into his backpack.

* * *

 _Dear ICaughtAShinyChocobo,  
_ _If that's the way you truly feel about it, then I think you are making the right decision. Just remember: friends are forever and all that. Don't burn any bridges on your way out, dear.  
_ _Red Leather (sorry if you can't read my handwriting!)_

 _Dear XxBloodyRainxX,  
_ _You are almost definitely a thirteen year old. Like, actually. Red Leather is an advice column for those 17 and up. Please stop clicking around the Midgar U website for your news.  
_ _Red Leather_

 _Dear Confused Chocobo,  
_ _Your friend probably has his own issues going on. It isn't your fault. Sorry, I can't think of anything else to tell you. This isn't my forte.  
_ _Red Leather (sorry if you can't read my handwriting!)_

 _Dear StressedNCrying,  
_ _Don't worry, dearest! Do what I do when you hate a professor. Pick the worst paper topic you can think of—bestiality, worm dissections, something you know the prof hates—and go into graphic detail in your paper. It'll keep you amused, and you feel like you're getting back at your professor a little bit. I have faith that you can get through the next few weeks – and my submission box is always open for you. Good luck!  
Red Leather (sorry if you can't read my handwriting!)_

 _Dear EggsAndBaconIWasMistaken,  
_ _If you got the runs from the cafeteria food PLEASE alert the CAFETERIA STAFF, not me. I swear… this is an advice column, but you have to understand there is nothing I can—or would want to—do about your bowel movements. My only advice to you (and everyone else out there): watch what you eat?  
_ _Red Leather_

* * *

It was only after texts from all four of his friends that Genesis finally agreed to spend some time with them. Zack finding him in the middle of Junon after another few hours spent responding to questions also had a great deal to do with it. Genesis had just deposited more of his handwritten responses into the box, and had Zack turned the corner ten seconds earlier he would have spotted him, but he seemed unaware of Genesis's business there.

"Printmaking?" Zack asked, hands on his hips.

"Um. Yes."

Zack grabbed his arm and dragged him to Cloud and Sephiroth's room across campus. He kept up a stream of happy chatter, not letting Genesis jerk his arm away. Angeal was already there, lounging back against Cloud's headboard, looking so relaxed and rugged it was sinful. Genesis did not meet his eyes and sighed loudly, so much so that they would know his displeasure.

"I'm here," he said flatly.

Zack hugged him from behind. "Good! We missed you. Movie night, alright?"

"I'm tired."

"You _look_ tired. Here. You can sleep against my shoulder if you have to, alright? We want you here with us."

Genesis tried to step out of Zack's hold but the younger man held him tight. When the redhead turned his head around he could see that Zack's smile was strained. He was trying so very hard to make things feel normal.

"…Okay," he agreed, reluctantly.

Angeal got up to greet Genesis with a hug. "I want to talk to you," he whispered into his ear. Genesis pretended he hadn't spoken.

Sephiroth watched him carefully from his seat at his own desk, and Cloud took his backpack. "Sit," Zack suggested, and Genesis perched onto Sephiroth's bed. Cloud and Sephiroth together splurged on a TV that was much too large for their small room; it perched on top of a bookshelf pushed against the far wall.

"Did your _LOVELESS_ essay go well?"

Genesis blinked. He'd made a social media post about that particular essay but had not spoken to any of his friends about it. Cloud was the only one who seemed to have any appreciation for his favorite work so Genesis stood, grateful for the distraction, and moved to his blond friend.

He rummaged through his backpack until he found the graded essay and handed it to Cloud. He pointed to the professor's comments at the bottom— _This is excellent, Genesis! You clearly have a truly inspired appreciation for LOVELESS… I'm impressed._ The A at the bottom was satisfying indeed, especially considering everything else he'd turned in lately had been…mediocre, at best.

It took a moment for Cloud to respond. "U-Uh—great, Gen. That's… great."

Genesis frowned. When Cloud looked up his eyes darted from the paper to Genesis's face and back.

"Oh," Genesis said with a gentle chuckle, "Sorry if you can't read my handwriting."

Cloud's eyes widened. "…It's okay." He glanced at the essay for a long moment before handing it back. He offered a weak smile. Genesis put it away and sat down next to Zack again, highly uncomfortable in the silence of the room.

The movie was something Genesis had not seen before but he couldn't concentrate on it. Zack stubbornly sat beside him, laughing in his ear and occasionally touching his hand or his arm—trying to get him into the film.

Across the room Sephiroth watched them quietly. Genesis didn't know if he was watching Zack touch Genesis or watching Genesis be touched by Zack—and he saw Sephiroth glance away for a minute, to make eye contact with Angeal. They communicated silently and Genesis's fists clenched in his lap.

When Angeal caught his eye he nodded his head towards the door, a _Can we talk now?_ Genesis looked away, only to catch sight of Cloud. The blond was staring right at Genesis, though he had the decency to look away when caught and pretend he hadn't been. Zack glanced at Cloud and then at Sephiroth, who was still watching them.

Genesis saw red.

He stood up abruptly and bellowed, " _I'm not a miracle worker!"_

Before anyone else could get in another word he walked over to Cloud and picked his backpack up off the floor. "Look," he said, his voice loud and echoing off the cheap walls, "Just figure it out for your damn selves! I've tried so hard to help you guys but, _shit,_ I have a life! I have _homework_! I'm stringing myself thin worrying about this shit— _just figure it out!_ You all apparently want to fuck each other so bad— _go_ for it. Just leave me out—I'm fucking sick of setting you all up. I can't _do_ it anymore."

He opened the door and stormed into the hallway. There were a few people out there who looked shocked, who had heard his emotional tirade through the door—but he didn't care.

Standing to wait for the elevator after an outburst like that was not Rhapsodos style, so he took the stairs down instead. Zack came after him, but Genesis shook off his arm and yelled "Get off me!" because he was _really_ worked up now, and Zack let him go, standing speechless on the stairs.

Genesis didn't cry but he did rage, throwing his pillow and every unbreakable thing across his room until his arms hurt. Thank Gaia Tseng was out. He eventually collapsed onto his bed, trembling and gasping, his vision still fishbowling. He hadn't had any great issues with his temper problem in years, but… _fuck_! He slammed his pillow down again and resisted the urge to smash his phone against the wall as he got a text: _Genesis, are you okay?_

No, he was not fucking _okay_.

He turned his phone off and stood in the shower until the water cooled both him and the fiery-hot, sickening anger inside him.

* * *

More than ever, he did not want to talk to his friends.

His _Megaphone_ cubicle had become a second little home. He even had boxes of granola bars on the desk. It was a lot easier to hide in its tiny walls and lose himself in other people's problems, and not think about how the others were probably together right then.

Angeal liked Sephiroth… who liked Cloud… who was almost certainly with Zack… and it was only logical to assume that Sephiroth's original jealousy was based around Zack's relationship with Angeal. It all went full circle; if they all got their heads out of their asses they'd stop the dramatic coupling and whispering and talk it out. They'd realize that the four of them went together perfectly. It wouldn't be his responsibility to make things right between them anymore.

Where did that leave Genesis, though? Who had developed a crush on Angeal many years ago, in high school? And Sephiroth, so shortly after meeting him at that party as a freshman? Where did that leave Genesis, whose heart fluttered every time Zack fixed him with that charming smile, or when Cloud took his hand or touched his arm?

Where was he?

His fuckbuddy was now dating, and he had no idea who he would go to next. The four men he'd had feelings for that he'd suppressed for years because it was taboo, because they were his _friends_ —they'd overcome that all on their own.

Without him.

Where _was_ he?

He was in his cubicle, of course, where Red Leather confidently handled the issues of the school populace. Where Red Leather was needed, and was the one person many people turned to. Where Red Leather was a _hero_.

When Genesis ran out of questions to answer and his hand was cramping from all the printed ones and the _Red Leather_ signatures he'd penned he dropped his head onto his forearm on the desk and breathed shallowly.

"You alright Gen?" Yuffie asked as she passed by, a stack of old issues in her arms.

"Fine."

She did not seem convinced but went away regardless, and he relaxed.

The computer pinged with a new submission and he looked up, eager to respond.

 _Dear Genesis,_ the letter read, and Genesis' blood ran cold.

 _We need some advice. We have a friend, and this friend spent all of his energy setting his friends up with each other while nobody noticed. He probably thinks he is alone now, but that could not be farther from the truth. How do we make it abundantly clear (because he is very good at pretending he does not see) that we love him, too?  
_ _Come outside. We've been waiting for over 20 minutes._

He read it again, and then again. Only one person outside of _Megaphone_ staff knew his real identity.

He walked out of his cubicle and to the entrance to _The Megaphone's_ office. He stuck his head out into the hallway, and a couple dozen feet away sat his friends against the wall, where Sephiroth usually did his homework after the meetings. Angeal noticed him first, said something to the others, and Genesis stared at them all in shock.

"What the hell, Sephiroth?" he asked weakly.

They came to him.

"They have a lot of explaining to do," Sephiroth answered. "No—we all do."

"Can I grab your stuff?" Angeal murmured. Genesis nodded but ended up following him; the others trooped into his officespace behind him.

"You really are Red Leather, huh." Zack sounded surprised.

Genesis stayed quiet, his thoughts reeling. Someone took his backpack and someone else took his hand, and before Genesis knew what was happening he was in Zack's room. Kunsel was out and the space was just full of his friends, who sat him down on the bed. Someone curled his hands around a warm cup of coffee.

They had stopped to get coffee? He didn't remember that.

"Guys," Genesis said, after he had taken a shaky sip. "What's going on?"

"It looks like you've run yourself into the ground," Zack responded. Genesis glared at him for the comment and Zack sighed. "We're here to make things right, Gen."

"To make what right? You've done nothing to me. It's fine."

"It's not, and you've done so much for us." Angeal smiled at him, sitting on Kunsel's bed. Genesis found himself smiling back before he had given his face permission. It was so nice, having a face-to-face conversation with Angeal Hewley.

"But we didn't know it."

"Someone explain, he's confused," Sephiroth said shortly.

"I think I was the one who started it," Cloud piped up, and they all turned to him. "I wrote in to Red Leather asking for advice. I wanted—I wanted to ask Zack out, but I was concerned that Zack was into Angeal. You helped me, so I asked Zack out, and he said yes. That was last month."

"And I was into _all_ of you this whole damn time, but I thought I'd have the best luck with Cloud or Geal. So I asked Red Leather—I mean you—about that as well. Then Cloud asked me out, but by then I was already thinking about Angeal too. And it turns out Seph here was crushing mad hard on Cloud this whole time!"

"You helped me with that in person," Sephiroth murmured, his voice low and soothing, like it had been as he spoke into Genesis's neck that evening on the bed. "Angeal made his feelings for me plain last week."

Genesis stared. "You've all been writing in to _Gift of the Goddess_ this whole time?"

"No, not Sephiroth. I was, uh, Confused Chocobo, Zack was…"

"First Class Babe."

"And after you caught me the first time I've been writing in as Buster," Angeal confirmed. "I tried to make it less obvious the second time around, but I guess that worked too well."

Genesis pondered this. "That's ridiculous. Sephiroth has known I'm Red Leather for a long time."

Sephiroth shook his head. "I had no idea they were writing in until two days ago, after you left. Otherwise most of this could have been avoided, I think."

"I saw your handwriting." Cloud mimed a signature. "On your essay. I've seen it before, but with all the written responses I've been getting lately I made the connection."

Genesis sighed. "So what? You four are…?"

Zack answered after a pregnant pause. "Thinking about… wanting to… _Gen_ , this is so complicated. I don't know what to call it. I like all of you, okay?"

"He means you too," Sephiroth added when Genesis's expression stayed flat, carefully masking the seclusion he felt inside.

"But that doesn't make any sense. None of you have ever…"

Angeal shook his head. "That first message I sent as _A Gardener_ , about confessing to a friend. You thought I was talking about Sephiroth, but that was about you, Gen."

Genesis stayed quiet, and covered his mouth with his fist.

"Y-Yeah," Zack said hurriedly, "And Cloud and I sent in a message about you too, but you never responded to it. We asked about how you always focus on others and ignore your damn self! And that's _exactly_ what happened here, you dumbass!"

Genesis moved his hand to reveal the smile he'd been hiding. He started to laugh. He laughed until tears leaked from his eyes and he flopped sideways onto the mattress. "What the _fuck_?" he asked. "That was about me? That goddamn Clickety-Clack question?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. Cloud and Zack? Get it? Clickety…Clack?"

Genesis laughed again at their idiocy and wiped at his eyes. "That explains why I couldn't answer it. Let me get this straight. I," he pointed at himself, and then at them, "Have been working endlessly to get you four together in person _and_ anonymously online."

Sephiroth grumbled, "Yes. And if I had known that Red Leather was involved in any way earlier I would have put an end to this. We are sorry for causing you so much harm, Genesis."

"I'm fine," the redhead replied automatically, waving his concern away. He then paused. "You guys don't know how upset I was when I realized that you were having problems with Cloud, Seph, and not Angeal. Or when I figured out you two were fucking. _Weeks_ ago."

Zack and Cloud looked suitably embarrassed. "How'd you figure that out?"

"It was obvious." Genesis sighed. "I was so damn worried. Even though I was upset that I was on the outside I still wanted to make it work between you all—but you were all making it so complicated."

"Sorry. We're so sorry, Genesis."

Genesis looked across the room at Angeal. He was confused and mildly hurting from all of them, but it was Angeal's acceptance he needed most at the moment. He moved across the room and his oldest friend opened up his arms for him. His hug was as solid as it had always been.

"Does this mean you're willing to give this a shot?" Zack asked, his voice filled with hope. "And that you'll forgive us for being difficult and putting you through all that?"

Genesis sat beside Angeal to face the junior, and Angeal hooked his pointer and middle finger around his pinky. "I suppose. But I think I deserve a lot of pampering after all that. Red Leather's suggestion."

Zack grinned at him, and then at Cloud, and then Sephiroth. "I think we can manage that."

* * *

 _Dear Red Leather,  
_ _What do you do when your roommate won't stop bringing her boyfriend over? I'm trying to do homework!  
_ _AnnoyedOnTheFourthFloor_

 _Dear AnnoyedOnTheFourthFloor,  
_ _You have a few options. 1) Give her a copy of your class schedule. Let her know when you won't be in your room. 2) Make it clear that bringing her boyfriend over sometimes is okay, but that your studies are important to you. Your RA will be able to help you plan what to say if you need it. 3) Itching powder in the underwear drawer. It's available in the joke shop in center city. Best of luck, dearest.  
_ _Red Leather_

* * *

 _Dear Red Leather,  
_ _Pleeeeease give us a hint! Who are you? I'll have you know there is a running bet in my macroeconomics class as to who you are! Are you cute?  
_ _Planning to Win the Bet_

 _Dear Planning to Win the Bet,  
_ _I'm the cutest. I'll give you a hint. I'm a senior. That means…that_ Gift of the Goddess _will need a new moderator after spring semester ends. Interested? Consider attending a meeting for_ The Megaphone, _schedule posted on our homepage.  
_ _Red Leather_

* * *

 _Dear Red Leather,  
_ _I desperately need some advice! I have the handsomest, most charming boyfriend ever… and I'm itching to take him out to dinner. He always says he hates Mideelian food but all of us know he just says that to be difficult. Do you think he wants to go out with me tonight? I'll try to get the other three in on it if they're free. Maybe I can get him to come back to my place when he's done…  
_ _Distraught Student_

group message to: **the boys  
** _Whoever keeps sending me Red Leather messages, stop it. Flirt via text like a normal person. Also, I'd love to go out tonight, just let me finish up a few more of these responses. See you all soon. xoxo_


End file.
